{KXLG – South Dakota} U.S. Attorney Alison Ramsdell announced that the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota collected nearly $3.5 million in criminal and civil actions during Fiscal Year 2024. The total amount collected was $3,496,288.47, with $1,584,408.91 stemming from criminal actions and $1,911,879.56 from civil actions.
The District of South Dakota office also collaborated with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and Department of Justice components to collect an additional $775,964.79. These totals do not include significant recoveries obtained at the end of Calendar Year 2024, such as the $12.7 million settlement resolving alleged False Claims Act violations involving Dunes Surgical Hospital and two physician groups and the $1.4 million paid toward restitution in a pandemic fraud prosecution.
“Ensuring the collection of federal debt restores justice to victims of crime and reinforces the integrity of our governmental institutions,” said U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell.
The Financial Litigation Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed 14 new garnishment actions and closed 44 civil and criminal restitution cases where federal debt or victims were paid in full. Notable examples include the recovery of $52,561.75 in a civil case from a borrower who violated a Farm Service Agency (FSA) loan agreement and the recovery of $36,773.79 in a criminal case from a defendant’s inheritance to provide restitution to wire fraud victims.
U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Department of Justice are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the United States, as well as criminal debts owed to federal crime victims. Defendants are legally obligated to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes. While restitution is paid directly to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are directed to the Department’s Crime Victims Fund, which supports federal and state victim compensation and assistance programs.
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